Copter Record Broken

DIGEST

After flying 24 days, three hours and 15 minutes, Ron Bower arrived in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday with a new round-the-world helicopter speed record.

Bower, who was given his survival gear by a Fort Lauderdale firm, Concorde Aerosales, landed at 1:20 p.m. CST as a crowd cheered and waved American flags. Later, he met Texas Gov. Ann Richards.

The previous helicopter speed record was 29 days, set in 1982. Bower, an Austin businessman, flew 230 hours, or an average of 9.5 hours per day, and visited 21 countries. He made the trip in a Bell 206B.

In addition to setting the record, he said he wanted to prove how reliable helicopters are. He had no major maintenance problems, and was delayed only by bad weather in Russia and Alaska.